A metal detecting enthusiast has unearthed a 3,600-year-old dagger from the depths of a South Lakeland (England) field. The finder, who wishes to remain anonymous for fear others will descend on the secret site, said he could not believe his luck when he stumbled across the Bronze Age relic. "I was going along a small footpath when I got a good signal from the detector. I dug down a few inches and saw a piece of green metal," he explained.
The 1600 BCE relic, which has been confirmed as bona fide Bronze Age by experts at the British Museum, is now being safely stored by the finder. "I've been told by experts that this is one of five of its kind in the whole country," he said.
Finds liaison officer for the Portable Antiquities Scheme, Faye Simpson, who examined the seven-and-a-half-inch dagger, said: "It is very rare to find something like this dagger in such good condition. We have had some prehistoric finds in the area before but nothing like this."